Caught In A Covid-19 Quarantine. How to Deal With That Disaster
Below comes the true danger of Covid-19 explained.
You have probably not expected a message from that perspective, because most Covid-19 articles are about the consequences of falling ill of it.
But that is not the only serious consequence of Covid-19.
It happened out of the blue, totally unexpected: some bureaucrat ordered a man into quarantine, for twenty-one (21) full days. Despite being vaccinated. That happened while traveling. He is working as a professional airline pilot. This is a high-risk job when it is about getting quarantined.
This pilot produced the short video below. He has been using the “F” word and the “Sh” words a lot, so I replaced his angry speech with some Copyright-free old music.
The pictures tell what he is so angry about: the mattress is thin, the TV screen is small, there is no view from his window, except the tray where the hotel staff would put his packed food, and there is nobody who will prepare the bed for him and clean the bathroom.
It seems that “quarantine” has become some sort of trade disease for airline pilots and other professions that require frequent traveling.
What I have predicted in my first Covid-19 article ever (click here) has become true:
Now assume the following situation. You have met someone during the convention, and that someone fell ill of the Corona virus. And that someone fell ill of the Corona virus before you could leave the country. Now ask yourself: would it be disturbing for you to be taken into quarantine for two weeks, even if it turns out that you were not infected with the Corona virus? For me, the answer is clear: no, this will not disturb me too much. I can do my work anywhere, using my laptop. Even in quarantine. But how about you?
The Rationale Behind Unlimited Quarantine Upon Arrival
What I find stunning is that many new cases of Covid-19 were vaccinated a long time before they were identified as being infected with Covid-19.
Are you still wondering why it makes sense to even put vaccinated people into quarantine upon arrival?
A recent article from the leading local newspaper in Singapore explains why measures for arriving passengers at the airport should be handled even stricter than before, for good reasons (click here).
A New Covid-19 KPI On The Block
And there is another important aspect seen here: what counts more are not the “number of new cases” as such in the community (versus the “imported cases” that go straight away into 3-weeks quarantine). What counts today are the “number of UNLINKED new cases”, i.e. those infections that cannot be traced back to cases that are already known.
Remaining optimistic for the travel bubble launch, Yau said the city’s seven-day moving average of unlinked local cases was lower than one, while Singapore’s was between 1.6 and 1.8.“The numbers are well below the established threshold to trigger a pause in the bubble. We will closely monitor if the situation gets worse,” Yau told reporters following a Legislative Council session.
Doesn´t a KPI that comes with a decimal sound convincing? The bureaucrat that invented that KPI should get promoted and/or get a bigger budget next year.
F&B While In Quarantine
This is the kind of food that they serve you in quarantine, all prepared in a central kitchen which is run by bureaucrats:
What is not shown in the video above is that you can essentially order as delivery whatever you want, as long as it is packed food. The hotel will organize that for you, for an administrative fee.
It is just that you will buy everything more expensive than in a regular supermarket.
I was taught in my youth that I should always stay away from the hotel minibar in my room. In quarantine, you literally have to live from that hotel minibar. Whether you like it or not.
Calculate in about US$ 100 of extra costs per day of quarantine.
How Do You React To That Truth
Don´t even try to be arrogant and look down on specific countries that put quarantines in place. It does not matter where the video above was taken because this can happen in any country. All that is needed for that to happen is a bureaucrat that orders you into quarantine, for whatever reason. I have written about that before (click here).
Are you prepared for this when you start traveling again? I am prepared.
Most important, before you even start to travel: book a direct flight to your destination, and avoid stop-overs. With a stop-over flight – when push comes to shove – you would have to serve two (2) quarantines, one at the stop-over place and one at your destination. The small price difference for a flight with a stop-over is not worth that extra risk.
Second most important: be mentally prepared to go into quarantine. That requires that you plan ahead what you will do while being held in quarantine.
Important rule number three: avoid boarding an airplane if you can. What I have written in my first Covid-19 article is still valid today:
An important point is this: is that international convention an essential event or a non-essential event for you?
Seen from that perspective, your decision about whether to attend will be easy. If you don’t need to be there, use the money for something else that you need and want more.
…
Clear cut situation: if you are an elderly person with existing diseases then better stay at home. If you become infected with the Corona virus you have a high chance of ultimately dying from that infection. But be careful, the Corona virus may very soon be at your own place.
What To Do While In Quarantine
Here is what I will do while in quarantine.
I have a working plan for quarantine, it follows from my three (3) ongoing lists in my Evernote account (click here if you want to know more about Evernote).
One of these lists is a “List of Blessings” for what is good and going well in my life. That List of Blessings helps me to better cope with setbacks that always happen, such as quarantine. And it also helps me to prioritize those projects that I have in a second document, which is my “List of Plans”.
You can find out more about my two lists and also about my “Prayer List”, which is separate from my “List of Blessings” and from my “List of Plans”, when you read my article here: https://ip-lawyer-tools.com/no-resolutions-for-2021-here-is-what-i-do-instead-count-my-blessings-and-review-my-list-of-plans-and-my-prayers-list/
Here Comes My Travel Packing List
These are the tools that I always bring along on any travel:
- a Swiss pocket knife (click here)
- a knife sharpening set (review to come soon)
- chewing gum or Blue Tag (review to come soon)
- a mini battery lamp with USB charging port (review to come soon)
- a bag with international adapters and USB chargers (review to come soon)
- a Prufen charging cable with adapters (click here)
- a bag with OTC medicaments that I am used to but that I do not easily get in other countries
- a portable SW radio with a long-wire antenna (review to come soon)
Then I have my laptop computer with me, and some accessories, see the video here: https://ip-lawyer-tools.com/home-office-from-scratch-how-to-build-your-work-post-for-a-professional-appearance-on-the-internet/
And I have a tripod for my smartphone with me.
Plus a paper Bible, in case that there is no electricity and no Internet. You can contact Gideons International and join us as a Financial Friend if you want to have one yourself, click here.
You can download my Quarantine checklist here Quarantine Checklist 140521
A Two-Steps Checklist For Quarantines
This is what I do during quarantine.
Step #1: I establish a proper workplace first. You can follow my video here: https://ip-lawyer-tools.com/home-office-from-scratch-how-to-build-your-work-post-for-a-professional-appearance-on-the-internet/
Step #2: And then I establish a realistic work plan. I plan in one day per week when I do nothing at all. Zero work. Sunday works best for me.
And then I am good to go.
Extras That You Could Do
A quarantine is a good opportunity for a reset and a fundamental life change.
I am recommending the Perry Marshall “30-days Reboot” course (click here). I have done that course during my last lock-down in May 2020. I guarantee that you will like it. Otherwise, you would not be reading my articles here on my contrarians´ blog.
Then you could read the Bob Buford book “Halftime”. If it helped me to shift my own life from seeking “success” to seeking “significance” it may also help you.
Conclusion
I do not think that life will go back to pre-January-2020 during the years to come.
Don´t complain. Face the truth.
An average quarantine can cost you USD 3,000 in cash.
And it will cost you 2-3 weeks of your life if you are not prepared. So be prepared and be productive.
Download my quarantine checklist Quarantine Checklist 140521 and store it in your Evernote account. You may have less than 30 minutes for preparing for quarantine, so make sure that you find this checklist quick.
Important: do not report in public about being quarantined. While this was still ok in 2020, it will be perceived just as non-adorable as an 80-years-old blogging about her recovery after a skateboard accident. Nobody wants to see whining about self-inflicted misery.
Martin “realistic” Schweiger